Original subtitles

♪♪

♪♪

When I first heard it, I...

you know, I played it...

It was going on my mind two ways...

No way can this happen.

And oh, my God,

this is gonna be worse than we could ever imagine.

I was mad. I'm still mad.

This is terrible.

Wrecked lives, wrecked families,

changed the history of the industry.

You know, we've never seen anything like this.

And there was really no precedent to work from.

♪♪

MALE REPORTER: Breaking news tonight,

the coronavirus forcing millions more Americans

into virtual lockdown, over 7,000 individuals...

FEMALE REPORTER: ...elected officials taking unprecedented measures

to keep people safe.

GUY: Overnight, thousands of restaurants closed

and millions of my brothers and sisters

lost their jobs across the country.

CUOMO: Any bar or restaurant closes at 8:00 tonight.

♪♪

There was no words.

It's coming.

Prepare.

Stick together.

What can we do?

I had two ideas that came up,

and one was to raise money for restaurant workers.

You know, we got a lot of great people together,

raised over $24 million.

But the second was to make sure

that we took the time to capture

what was really happening on the front lines

in the restaurant industry.

It was very clear who it should be and why.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson,

the internationally acclaimed restaurateur

whose flagship Red Rooster strengthened

the already deep culinary roots

in his New York Harlem neighborhood.

MARCUS: You know, we had 30 restaurants.

They were all jumping along. I was on top of the world.

GUY: Chef Maneet Chauhan and her husband Vivek,

the total package.

Balancing a creative business plan

with a one-of-a-kind mashup of Indian cooking

and Nashville southern charm.

MANEET: In four years, we opened four restaurants

and three breweries.

The thing is that both of us, we are scrappy.

We are immigrants.

GUY: Chef Christian Petroni, the Bronx-born Italian wild man

who's built a five restaurant empire of his own

and knows how to use all the tools available

to stay top of mind for his customers.

Can somebody make some noise, guys?

[ Cheering ]

We were just gearing up to take over the world.

GUY: And Chef Antonia Lofaso

the warrior princess herself,

a single mom who fought her way

to the top of LA's restaurant scene

with three totally unique concepts.

It's taken me 10 years to build these three restaurants

and it took a matter of a week for it all to be torn down.

♪♪

I said, I need the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I need you to keep that camera rolling.

I hope we get out of this stronger.

I keep convincing myself that we will.

But it's frightening.

A historical moment in time in an industry

that is so important to all of us in so many ways,

shapes, and forms.

MARCUS: It's bigger than anything I've ever seen.

People are dying.

GUY: And these four very brave

chef/restaurant owners captured it.

Something you've never seen,

something you'll probably never see again.

There's a responsibility that we all feel...

to the people who have helped us build our restaurants.

Every morning we get up, we pound.

ANTONIA: There are people out there that need food

and I have to figure out how to get it to them.

It's okay!

It's something that affects our business.

It's something that affects our family

and it's happening together.

MARCUS: I don't know if people are gonna be comfortable

coming back to restaurants.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon drop shots! When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

♪♪

♪ Whatever happened... ♪

No roadmap, just hustle.

ANTONIA: We live to fight another day.

I can feel the finish line.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, we're in business.

ANTONIA: What if 2020 was the year that

we all exactly needed?

CHRISTIAN: Think I'm losing it, man!

[ Laughing ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

GUY: At the start of 2020,

the restaurant industry was as strong as it's ever been.

Revenues and customer satisfaction were up.

It's a bright time for a traditionally low margin,

high-risk industry to shine,

and all of our chefs are coming off a really strong year.

♪♪

My name is Chef Marcus Samuelsson,

and I'm the chef and co-owner of Red Rooster here in Harlem.

I was born in Ethiopia, but grew up in Sweden.

So I am a self-proclaimed Swediopian.

My mother, my sister, and I had tuberculosis

and she passed away in the hospital.

But me and my sister were lucky enough to get adopted

and we got adopted to Gothenburg, Sweden.

And that's where I found my love for cooking.

I spent a lot of my time

learning the craft in Central Europe

and it was definitely food that brought me to the States.

Remember those days when I came to this country

with $300 and just excited.

After 9/11, I was lost.

I was searching for a larger community.

Coming to Harlem, was instantly coming home

and it felt like a community that was part of something.

Once I moved to Harlem,

It was equally important to create a restaurant

in my community.

In 2010, we opened the doors to Red Rooster.

I look at the four corners of African-American culture,

right, so the food is obviously there.

There's also a certain level of hospitality

and then also music and then art.

It's a very layered experience.

That's what regulars just loved.

It's all about experiencing great comfort food.

On an average week,

we serve about 5,000 people at Red Rooster.

On a Saturday or Sunday, maybe 900 to 1,000 people.

♪♪

I enjoy the reaction between pan and ingredient,

that sizzle in the pan.

We are creative beings and we have to do it.

And we are talking through the food.

I will always cook.

We had 30 restaurants in our portfolio

in eight countries that were all jumping along.

We have 180 people that work at Red Rooster.

I was on top of the world.

♪♪

ANTONIA: I'm Chef Antonia Lofaso.

I'm an executive chef and restaurant owner

here in Los Angeles, California.

I have three restaurants... Scopa, Italian roots,

which is my American Italian restaurant.

DAMA, which is my Latin-inspired restaurant.

And Black Market,

which is, I like to say, American eclectic.

I am a single mom of an incredible

20-year-old college student named Xea.

I started cooking when I was 10 years old

in Long Island, New York.

I grew up in an Italian and Jewish family,

so food was a huge part of how we showed love and appreciation.

I decided to go to culinary school

because I knew that I loved food.

I knew that I loved the restaurant industry.

And I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.

The biggest passion for me in this industry is hospitality,

taking care of people.

I love that I am the facilitator of the good time.

My work schedule consists of me

basically running three restaurants,

overseeing close to 500 employees.

On a typical busy weekend in February,

we were serving close to 1,200 people,

you know, 600 people easily each night.

Revenue was flowing. We had such great momentum.

♪♪

I am Maneet Chauhan and I am the president

and founder of Morph Hospitality.

And along with my husband, Vivek Deora,

Vivek is the CEO and founder.

We own four restaurants in downtown Nashville,

Chauhan Ale & Masala House,

which is Indian food inspired by Southern cuisine,

Chaatable is street Indian food.

Mockingbird is modern diner

with retro dishes with a modern twist.

And Tansuo is absolutely Chinese cuisine

influenced from all over China.

Vivek and I also own a beer park called Hop Springs,

which is on 83 acres.

I was born in India and my love story with food

goes as far back as I remember.

I would literally finish dinner at home

and then go to my neighbors' houses

and tell them that my parents hadn't fed me.

So can I eat with you?

I started learning the diversity of food.

You know, in India, each and every state

has a very distinct cuisine of its own.

What I'm really known for is taking Indian food,

which is my roots,

and giving it a Western spin to it.

Through food, I could have a conversation

with anybody.

You make the food and you present it to the guests

when they take the first bite and they have the a-ha moment.

To me, that makes everything okay in the world.

It's going great.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday between the three restaurants

we have fed 2,500 people.

We would get a high the next morning

like, you know, sending texts.

"Hey, guys, these are the numbers that we did. Yes!"

♪♪

My name is Christian Petroni

and I got five Italian restaurants Fortina

located around the tristate area, Armonk, Rye Brook,

Stamford, Brooklyn, and beautiful Yonkers, New York.

We cook food in woodfired ovens...

Red sauce, chicken Parm,

pasta, flipping pies in the air, upside down,

doing flips just, like, the food you want to eat.

I really love my neighborhood growing up in the Bronx,

whether it was at our kitchen table

or walking back and forth to school,

food always played some sort of role.

Believe it or not, all I ever really wanted to do was cook.

I'm not one of those cool chefs

that trained with a lot of cool chefs.

I had some great chefs in my life that taught me a lot.

But I like to think I'm pretty much self-taught.

I love making food for people.

Last year, we served over 600,000 guests.

A lot of dishes.

We were humming on all cylinders

just like a beast.

[ Siren wailing ]

One person with coronavirus in King County,

Washington state, has died.

This now makes the first coronavirus death

confirmed in the U.S.

♪♪

♪♪

The situation is accelerating and action is accelerating.

Any bar or restaurant closes at 8:00 tonight.

♪♪

What we just decided

was to close our second restaurant,

Hudson Valley.

Brooklyn has been closed.

We got to lay off those managers

and the rest of that remaining team.

We had close to 300 employees.

And right now, it's like less than 20.

Um...

♪♪

WOMAN: Is hard for you to see it like this? MARCUS: It's devastating.

CHRISTIAN: This place would normally be packed with people.

ANTONIA: There is a part of me that never thought everything

that I worked for for the last 10 years would be taken away.

It's really hard to swallow.

♪♪

These are the restaurants all up on the screen,

so we can always see what's going on.

It's eerie.

Here in Armonk right now,

this was my first restaurant.

Empty, empty.

I was 29 years old when we opened this

and I'm sitting here right now on a Sunday

where this place would normally be packed with people

having brunch, families,

grandparents, making memories.

I mean, this is where it all happens

in these two rooms over here

and to see them empty.

Can I even reopen these places?

I don't even want to think about that right now,

but that is something

that is gonna be a conversation very soon.

I don't know what's gonna happen.

I straight up just don't know.

♪♪

MARCUS: This happened very, very quickly.

One day we were open and a day later

we were completely shut down everywhere.

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, shutting down Harlem.

We were one week away from opening Miami.

And it's not just names.

These are places, these are chefs,

these are service, you know, cooks.

Some people that we built

something together over the years.

Red Rooster's a very layered experience.

To the right is the nook.

That's where the DJs are.

So we have the open kitchen. We planned it that way.

Chefs have been anonymous for so many years.

We wanted to bring some highlights

to the cooks and the chefs.

The bar is really where the community meet.

WOMAN: Is it hard for you to see it like this? It's devastating.

It's taken me 25 years to build this moment

that I have,

but it took 10 days to tear it all down.

I don't wish it on my worst enemy.

♪♪

Restaurants will be closed

for dining inside those restaurants.

ANTONIA: So on March 16th, on that Monday,

all of my restaurants either closed or became takeout only.

Not that it came as a shock, I think the week before

we all kind of saw it happening.

So I think Los Angeles knew that it was coming.

There is a part of me that never thought in a million years

that everything that I worked for for the last 10 years,

every source of revenue would be taken away

in a matter of hours.

This whole experience has been more than anything

I was ever ready to deal with.

We don't know how we're gonna stay afloat.

There has been an array of emotions.

I have just been sort of really angry and, uh,

aggressive, and sad.

It is a serious, like, emergency.

♪♪

Today is especially hard

because our company has over 500 employees

that are getting

their last check today.

My heart is broken

because there's a responsibility that we all feel...

[ Sniffles ]

...to the people who have helped us build our restaurants.

♪♪

And are in it with us every day.

And for them to not, um,

be employed or feel safety

is really hard.

It's really hard to swallow.

♪♪

We knew that it was just a matter of time that COVID

would be hitting Nashville,

but we did not realize the severity of the situation.

A lot of people were completely blindsided.

♪♪

March 16, we were open,

March 17, everything was closed.

We made the call to shut down the restaurants

ahead of the curve.

Right away, we knew that the first thing we needed to do

was to just lay off our entire team.

And that puts close to 300 people out of work.

It was at a neck breaking speed,

that one decision after the next decision,

just trying to make sure that we were doing the best

for our company, for our staff, for our guests.

We could have just stayed and struggled for another week.

That one week would have cost us payroll, ingredients, wastage.

That was a big number.

We are like, hey, guys, there is no way

that we are going to survive if we don't shut down right now.

♪♪

What really, really hit me the worst

was that everybody was so freaking gracious about it.

They're like, yeah, we understand.

I'm like, I'm so glad that you do

because I have no understanding of this situation.

♪♪

To me, all of these restaurants,

they seem to be a culmination of all the hard work,

the sweat, the tears, the sacrifices

that I have made all my life to find myself over here.

I see this dream completely shattering.

The entire COVID situation was raw.

And that moment became so,

so overwhelming that I offered...

That I opened the fridge, I grabbed a bottle of wine,

I went to my closet with my pillow.

And any other time it would be fine.

But given the times that we are in, it just really,

really hit me and really, really upset me.

We had just let go of our entire team.

We had just shut down all the restaurants

and I was in a very emotionally vulnerable place.

These times are crazy.

I want us to win,

especially when it comes to the restaurants,

to how hard we worked,

how hard we have created this family.

I hope we get out of this stronger.

I keep convincing myself that we will,

but it's frightening.

It's frightening.

CHRISTIAN: ♪ It's gonna be good, it's gonna be great ♪

♪ We're staying positive, it's gonna be great ♪

We came up with pies for the people

for whoever can use a morale boost.

Thank you so much, okay?

MANEET: After a week, we started the takeout.

I was worried that people had already had their curry fix.

Somebody just wrote, we love Chauhan.

I really needed to see this message to today.

We're gonna do 100 meals for a hospital in Hollywood.

This is our calling during the pandemic.

This is what makes all of this okay.

♪♪

♪♪

CHRISTIAN: ♪ Another day, we're gonna do it ♪

♪ We're staying positive, we're staying positive ♪

♪ It's gonna be good, it's gonna be great ♪

♪ We're staying positive, it's gonna be great ♪

♪♪

When the pandemic hit, we knew we wanted to help.

We came up with Pies For the People.

What's great about it is that you can buy a pizza

on our website and you can buy it for someone

who can benefit from it, someone in need,

whether it's obviously a frontline hospital worker,

doctors, nurses, policemen, EMT.

But whoever can use a morale boost

is pretty much what Pies For the People

is all about.

All right, let's move these pizzas over here.

These are all full? Yeah, yeah, everything's full.

Let's start loading up my truck with them.

♪♪

We got a side by side situation.

When the pizza oil goes on the seats,

it's like a good conditioner.

You know, it's good when the new leather seats are anointed

by the oil of the 'za, you know?

♪♪

We're off to Bridgeport Hospital.

Get these hundred pies to some people

that can really use a proper

morale boost right now.

♪♪

I'll start bringing them in now.

Hi, guys. Oh, thank you, dear.

Thank you for everything you guys do.

Thank you so much, okay?

You guys all stay safe.

Bye, guys. Thank you for everything.

♪♪

Last year was a year

that we were finally settling down while we are like, okay,

we are going to figure out what the road map is for five years,

seven years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years.

Right?

Those road maps literally went

into the trash.

I have been so impressed with the way Vivek

has been handling all of this,

his focus has been on how we are going to come back

and strategizing on... on that.

He also keeps me grounded.

First thing that I wanted to do was I'm like,

let's start curbside pickup.

And he's like, no, for one week we do nothing.

And in that one week, we did our market research

as to what is the best way to do this, right?

Don't tell him I told you that, but, yeah,

I've been very impressed with Vivek.

Maneet and I are partners in everything

besides being life partners,

we're also business partners.

MANEET: It's definitely not easy working together and cooking...

Parenting together, working together... Yeah.

...coaching together.

But both of us are really passionate about this industry.

I think that's what makes the foundation very strong

and then small fights that's... That adds spice to life.

Yeah, the spice queen talking about passion.

MANEET: After a week, we started the takeouts.

Vivek went ahead and figured out

strategically how to do that.

VIVEK: Open up Tansuo on Friday.

So Friday night Chinese and then Chauhan Indian food on Saturday

and then Sunday is Mockingbird.

And that's the strategy going into this weekend.

Hopefully we will succeed.

And if we don't,

hey, we tried. We tried.

[ Telephone ringing ]

Thank you for calling Chauhan, this is Ali.

MANEET: On Saturday, we have curbside pick up from Chauhan.

We decided that we are going to do preorders

so that we know what is the orders coming,

so that we order things which are fresh

and only as much as we want.

So we are not sitting on too much of inventory

because inventory equals money.

In half an hour, we are going to start doing takeout orders.

We have over 100 different orders done.

It's a lot to do.

So this is the calm before the storm.

Yeah, I'm a little bit nervous.

So there is a word in Hindi which is called jugaad.

♪♪

Which means using whatever resources

are available around you to come up with a solution.

And I know that we are going to come up with crazy ideas on

how to swim when this flood comes.

This is critical for our survival.

It's going to help us from closing the place.

Is it as tall as I am?

No, it isn't. It isn't.

Those tickets, that pays the utilities for a month.

Each ticket will pay for a little bit of the water bill,

a little bit of the gas bill,

a little bit of the electricity bill,

but it won't make rent.

That comes from our pocket.

You do what you got to do.

MANEET: We went from close to 300 employees down to a handful.

All of us partners are working for free

because it's a matter of survival.

MICHAEL: Putting in orders.

Think it's pretty bonkers. Time is of the essence.

I have Katherine. Which one do you need?

I need Leslie Osborne.

Okay, coming.

I'm getting my steps in. I better get more than 10,000.

I was worried that maybe people had already

had their curry fix

and maybe they're getting more worried about corona

that they won't be coming out.

There were so many orders.

Thank you so much for ordering today. Of course!

Under this mask,

there's a big smile, I promise you. Me, too!

People just telling us, thank you for opening

and cooking food for us.

Those messages were so meaningful.

Oh, my God.

Somebody just wrote, we love Chauhan.

Any other day, I would have been really [bleep]

because you literally are vandalizing our building.

But I really needed to see this message today.

Today has been... Today has been a tough day.

So whoever did it, I really needed to see this today.

We are done.

These are the moments, right?

While we are... wow!

Cheers. - Cheers!

The first night for takeout for Chauhan,

we did around 120 meals,

which seemed like a great accomplishment.

But in normal times, this was 1/10th

of what we as an entire group would have sold.

But I still felt a sense of accomplishment.

This is our family time. [ Laughs ]

- See you! Bye. - Take care, bye. Thank you.

I think the one thing that we don't have a doubt about

is the fact that we both are fighters

and we are going to make the best

of whatever situation we find ourselves in.

The day we opened Chauhan Ale & Masala House,

the first restaurant,

I was expecting baby number two,

and he decided to be born three months early,

the day we opened the restaurant.

As parents,

you feel very helpless.

You have a 2 1/2-pounder,

lighter than a gallon of milk and you're so not in control.

You are so at the mercy of... Mercy of the doctors.

He was in the hospital in the NICU for three months.

It was a very tough time for us.

But we, you know, we were strong

and we made it through.

We did whatever it took.

And this is no different. We are strong.

We'll make it through.

ANTONIA: This is the first time that I've talked about this

in a way that isn't pretty.

We're trying to, like, provide a service to the community

because people don't want to go to supermarkets

and they're freaked out.

MARCUS: We all have to stay positive,

we're in this together.

I think could be the one thing we've got to hold on to.

I've never done this before,

I've never filmed in my restaurant.

I don't really talk about my life in the restaurant.

I keep it like church and state.

What I do here is very different

and very private from what I do on television.

This is the first time that I've opened up

and talked about this in a way

that isn't pretty and uncertain.

Once the shutdown hit, within a day and a half,

we closed DAMA completely.

We focused on Black Market and Scopa.

We did a limited to-go menu in both venues.

Do we want to offer pre-order?

Yeah, I think we do pre-order for them as well. For them as well?

ANTONIA: February 2020 with all of the restaurants and bars,

we have over 500 employees.

And March 2020,

we were able to keep on 20 employees.

♪♪

Yesterday, the order came down that restaurants

could sell groceries,

they didn't need a grocers license.

So we turned all of the venues into markets.

So there were two different markets

along with takeout that we did at Scopa,

which was more of like this Italian market, if you will.

So this is what we're doing for the market.

Frozen tomato sauce, meat sauce, pork ragu, mushroom ragu,

and then it's lasagne,

chicken Parm that everyone can buy to stock them

in their freezers and then fresh pasta that...

[ speaks indistinctly ] ...makes every single day.

And then Fred's Market was more kitchen essentials.

Which was once the bakery

is now just like the beginning of our grocery.

We're selling apples, bananas, oranges,

lemon, limes, grapefruits, bread, sugar, flour, salt.

We're trying to, like, provide a service

to the community because people don't want to go

to supermarkets and supermarket shelves are empty

and they're freaked out.

Guys, I need a meat sauce,

a meatball, and a dozen eggs from the fridge.

♪♪

ABC department, who regulates our, like, beer

and liquor license, day two or three,

lifted all the ordinances of being a label to sell liquor,

which is a huge, huge deal.

What we can sell it for is usually a 30% markup.

We can make $50 off of a bottle of tequila.

I make $12 off the steak that I sell.

Liquor sales are actually up 40%

in the United States right now.

This has basically doubled our sales in a week.

So since we brought on alcohol,

right now we have almost 90% of our back

of the house fully employed at least two days a week,

specifically because we started selling liquor.

Every day is just kind of getting up,

setting up our kitchen in a whole new way.

The restaurant looks completely different.

There are no plates. There is no silverware.

It's all to-go boxes.

So this has been a huge disruption.

We all look like chef doctors. [ Laughs ]

This might be the new norm.

♪♪

♪♪

MARCUS: When all of this happened,

I felt helpless, first.

It was really, really helpful to see Andrés

at World Central Kitchen.

We could turn Red Rooster into community kitchen.

The most amazing thing about our chef community that is

that we are a community.

And I feel so privileged and blessed to have a friend

like José Andrés.

José Andrés is an incredible chef

and he's really built up an incredible restaurant empire.

So he built an organization called World Central Kitchen

and he travels the world and really helps out

wherever there's a food insecurity, he goes.

He's a friend, you know, he's an immigrant like me.

We cook together over the last 20 years,

you know, calling FEMA.

I wouldn't even know where to start, you know,

like what is, you know, like,

there's no human contact there.

I'm on the phone with José, I said,

hey, chef, I need you.

We need to serve our community.

And he's just said, I'll be there. We'll be there.

Getting a first load from World Central Kitchen,

carrying it in.

Second week has been about when the hustler when the chef in you

really shows up, right, so we partnered

with José Andrés and World Central Kitchen,

really convert produce to Harlem into community kitchen.

Hi, how are you?

He's here to make sure that all this food is happening. No, he's the general.

Hi, guys. Oh, thank you. Thank you very much, sir.

MARCUS: One of the blessings of living in Harlem

is that you see America, you see all of it.

Times like this,

you don't even know where the industry is going,

what's next.

But right now, you can't even think about this.

Today, it's about giving.

We have a purpose and let's feed that purpose.

WOMAN: Perfect time to say prayer.

ROBERT: Heavenly Father, we just thank you right now.

Oh, God, protect us from... [ speaks indistinctly ]

MARCUS: My crew, they are heroes.

You know, Robert is a hero.

Robert is a priest. He's also our greeter.

So he works the line and he makes sure

that there is a level of dignity there

that is upheld.

With this coronavirus

and with all the stuff that's going on,

We do care. So they may not have the food or the finance,

but we're gonna contribute the best that we can.

MARCUS: When I look at him and he shows up every day,

all the time...

We thank you for World Central Kitchen

that collaborated with Marcus Samuelsson.

MARCUS: If he can do it, I can do it.

- Amen. - Amen.

Amen.

MARCUS: World Central Kitchen has helped us rehire some staff,

if I can have 35,

40 people back, good 25%,

that's massive, that's huge.

I mean, us chefs, all chefs,

we're very committed to our team.

I don't know one chef that is not.

It's your second family.

You're definitely the captain of the ship. You're the chef.

And my team is looking for answers from me.

It's looking for security for their families from us.

Now, what's up? What are you gonna do?

We all have to stay positive. We're in this together.

I think could be the one thing that we got to hold on to.

ANTONIA: I don't know.

There's something about today where it's like we had

to leave the restaurant. [ Laughs ]

Go out into the world! [ Laughs ]

MARCUS: The most vulnerable are African-American men.

You realize, whoa, they're speaking about me.

♪♪

The bad news isn't just bad,

the bad news is actually terrible.

It's the roughest week in New York so far,

because this week and next week

is when we're supposed to lose to most people.

You know, I'm looking at all the numbers

because it's just so depressing.

But one of the numbers that came out

was that the most vulnerable are African-American men.

And being a black man living in Harlem,

you realize, whoa,

they're speaking about me.

It's scary and I don't want to be paranoid, but it's scary.

♪♪

♪♪

So all of our sous chefs have still been working

and we've actually been able to bring back employees

to Scopa and Black Market.

Things feel really good. The Scopa market is doing great.

We're doing great numbers to-go.

On a typical busy weekend in 2019,

we were serving 600 people easily each night.

Now, with COVID, we're doing maybe 30 to-go orders.

We've got markets going. We've got to-go going.

At this point, it's like how do we take care

of frontline workers

and can we donate food to show our appreciation?

There's a ton of charity work raising money, okay,

that's being filtered through World Central Kitchen

José Andrés' charity to provide

meals to frontline workers

and at the same time, provide revenue for restaurants.

[ Laughter ]

MARCO: Another 100 meals? Okay.

ANTONIA: So upstairs, I have Luis working on

a little arugula and provolone salads for them.

And then they're gonna get an extruded macaroni.

So, like, a fresh macaroni with bolognese.

And then we're gonna make some vegetarian options

and do like a mushroom.

I do it for some of the vegetarian

doctors and nurses.

♪♪

I feel, like, really happy right now.

Very first hospital drop, everyone was pumped.

I don't know, there's something about today

where it's like we get to... We get to leave the restaurant.

[ Laughs ]

And, like, go out into the world.

[ Laughs ]

My good friend Ben, who trains me in the morning,

he was like, I'll drive you.

Chani, who's my marketing director,

Lacey, who's also a dear friend and part of the community.

Everyone wanted to come on this trip, this trip six miles.

For the record, it was six miles away.

I haven't been anywhere other than my house and Scopa

in three weeks.

I was so excited where I was like,

this is our calling during the pandemic.

This is what makes all of this okay.

We just pulled up in where it says patient staff pick up,

drop off, is that okay? - Yeah.

The only time that I would be putting gloves on and a mask on

and getting out of a car with a group of people... With a getaway driver.

With a getaway driver would be if we were robbing a bank.

Mushroom pasta. - Oh, my God. Yummy.

Insalata.

This is like the best pasta ever!

♪♪

Thank you so much.

The highlight today was that we did something

outside of the restaurants, you know, something bigger,

which is just taking care of the doctors and the nurses.

It makes me feel proud of my team.

Hospitality world is strong

and they make [bleep] happen.

CHRISTIAN: There is something here.

This can be a revenue generator for me.

MANEET: The hardest part is teaching math to my daughter.

Oh, my God.

We got Pies For the People we got takeout,

and it ain't enough.

We need new ideas and we need them now.

A really cool thing is happening right now

where some big supermarkets are starting to call me

and they're looking for our lasagne,

a few different pasta dishes.

♪♪

So this is what we're doing right now.

In DeCicco's, right?

You happy with the way it's been holding on?

When they heat it up, does it get creamy?

Is there sauce for them to... [ speaks indistinctly ] Yeah.

We want sauce to the bottom.

We do the sauce on the bottom. We toss the noodles.

If we can go like an extra half a ladle

or whatever it is on the bottom... Okay.

Only because people just... They love sauce.

Yeah, of course, absolutely. Yeah.

And the lasagna's beautiful.

It's got that real fine creamy texture to it.

People are lovin' this, man.

Just because there's so many layers in there.

I haven't had pasta in two weeks.

Oh.

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

My idea of Christmas. [ Laughs ]

I've got more.

Let's just keep going.

Sounds good.

I think people are gonna want

more restaurant-quality food

that they can finish in their oven at home.

So that's what I'm really gonna focus on.

There is something here.

This is a real... This can be a real, um,

revenue generator, for me,

this can actually be its own business

and I'm telling you, I was staying optimistic

and I know something good is bound to come out of this

and it looks like it could be starting.

And with that being said, we'll just keep...

We'll just keep the candle lit

and hope for the best.

MARCUS: This pandemic has created an involuntary pause,

and maybe is that what we needed?

Hop Springs Brewery has come out with a social distancing beer.

People are driving through and they're taking it home.

ANTONIA: This is the most amount of food I've ordered in a month.

The bike is going and then wrench gets thrown

into the wheel and then you fly off and crash.

Thank God Sherri's here with the kids

and even the extra time I've been spending here at home,

I'm like, oh, my gosh, how does she do it?

Like, I can never handle it.

Hey, Mama, how's the fresh air feel? Not so good.

Not so good. Right, Mama?

Hey, baby girl.

Say hi to your sister.

Say hi to your sister.

Say hi to your sister.

No, there's one up here. Use the one up here. I don't want to.

Hey, Beau-colone, come here. No!

You want to take your helmet off?

Beau-Beau, if you love me, say no.

If you love me, say no.

[ Screams ]

See? He loves me.

I am Italian.

Family is a big part of our culture,

so, you know, it makes for an interesting time.

So this past Saturday, you know,

we had to get out of the house.

I said, babe, don't we just take a ride past grammy

and poppy's house, right?

We're here seeing the family for the first time

in a while.

We're being about being socially responsible

so grammy and poppy,

we surprised grammy and poppy, there's poppy right there.

They haven't seen their grandkids.

So...

It's just not fair.

Am I gonna be that guy

that started off real positive

throughout this whole thing and slowly,

slowly...

slowly deteriorates

until he gives up and loses?

No, that's not me.

♪♪

You want to stay away from that oven if you're smart.

Outside of my wife and kids, all right,

and the business that I built, all right,

and these chickens

are one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

♪♪

Love you.

If I can't do it for my employees,

I can't do it for my family,

the least I can do is try to

pull it together for the chickens.

Oh.

♪♪

REPORTER: Tonight as schools closed from coast to coast,

the precautionary step for COVID-19,

forcing parents to figure out what comes next.

The state of Tennessee have declared public schools

to be closed for the rest of the year,

which is gonna cause a lot of mayhem in our lives.

♪♪

[ Sighs ]

Okay, I'm rushing back home

because I have to go

and teach the kids schoolwork.

And crazy.

Right now, Vivek and I, we are just trying

to figure out what's next.

I say I'm a mom of three.

I have two kids and a husband.

[ Shouting indistinctly ]

MANEET: Shagun is 8. She's my daughter.

Karma is 5. He's my son.

Sunday movie morning, Karma?

No, we're gonna do this all day.

[ Gasps ] We are.

- Hi! - [ Sighs ] Okay.

I swear to God, the hardest part about corona

is teaching math to my daughter.

Oh, my God.

Early morning math be like...

♪♪

Those four teachers, the amount of text or emails

that I was sending.

I have a newfound respect for teachers

because teaching the kids is highly frustrating.

We've got to do what we've got to do.

That's what parents do.

It's really important to be making sure

that your kids get as much attention as your restaurant is.

WOMAN: Keep up the good work. I hope to see you soon.

MARCUS: Hide and seek!

Hey, I'm looking for Zion. Is Zion there?

Wow!

As this is happening, try to focus on what little bit

of good I spent much, much more time with my family.

I do think that what stays positive,

like, I cook more at home and I have had a chance to be

with my son and the family.

My beautiful wife, Maya,

we've been together for about 15 years.

We have an almost 4-year-old little kid, Zion,

that is everything to us.

Let's go.

[ Shouts indistinctly ]

MARCUS: Now we live right in front of a park,

that's his park, you know.

Every morning, we've been coming out of the park

when there's no people.

It's been our bonding time.

And I realized I missed so much.

And it's also made me think about,

hey, man, what was I doing?

Was I doing too much for what, for whom?

Who is this guy?

The greatest joy just to be home with him.

He can't see me down. I got to be up for him, for her.

But it's tough.

Thank you, Zion.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] Making a salad.

MARCUS: Hey, we're healthy

and our son is healthy and that keeps me going.

This pandemic has created an involuntary pause, right?

It focuses all of us to think and take stock.

Yeah, it gives me time to pause and maybe, maybe,

maybe somewhere deep in there,

is that what we needed?

Maybe.

♪♪

So right here what we have is Life is Brewing Hop Springs.

It's a second arm of our business,

which is the largest craft brewery

in the state of Tennessee,

and it sits on this beautiful 84 acres.

In the good times, we used to have this area

loaded with people who would come in

and play this golf,

who would come for the 5K walking trail,

and hang out while they drink some beer.

Today, it's empty.

The only way we could overcome the crisis

and keep the lights on literally is by having the drive-thru.

People are driving through, they're picking up some beer,

and they're taking it home while they're social distancing.

I mean, it's been more successful

than when we would have people coming over here, which is...

...crazy, I mean, it's unheard of. It is, it is.

MANEET: The alcohol sales in America are up by 40%.

I think Maneet and I contributed 1% of that 40%.

[ Both laugh ]

Hop Springs Brewery has come out

with a social distancing beer.

And we start doing the beer rollout this week.

Oh.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

Cheers.

For us, this one crazy idea which we spent together

in the think tank and executed,

I would say almost flawlessly,

has been a real blessing.

So just leaving the Hop Springs Brewery.

What do you think, Vivek? Do they think we'll make it?

Do we have any other option?

There is always a doubt in the back of your mind.

Hey, when we come back, we will come back with all of it?

Or are we gonna come back with something that is short?

Who knows?

♪♪

♪♪

If you really think about it like there's not gonna be

an end to this, there is no vaccine for this.

My prediction is this is

just gonna go on for a very long time.

♪♪

That's actually the fun part about this.

I know this sounds crazy, but it's like this pivot

and make it happen where it's like,

okay, what's coming up? Easter's coming up.

Okay, what's coming up? The Passover's coming up.

Like, how can we support the community?

How can we keep people employed? How can we make money?

And it's like it's actually working.

It's almost like a test in business skills.

It's really exciting.

♪♪

We went home last night and then we came back

to 52 emails about Easter and Passover dinner

that we have to get back to this morning.

What do you think the maximum

potentially could be? I think it has to be... it has to be 50.

We can't do... [ speaks indistinctly ] Okay, copy that.

It's a pandemic, people. No dietary restrictions.

So it's Los Angeles. [ Laughs ]

We sold over 60 orders of seder dinners, you know what I mean?

And the seder dinner was huge.

You're talking about five courses, including dessert.

I can only do 50 orders,

which is essentially 250 people.

We only have so many ovens to braise brisket

in two days.

I was making matzo balls until 11:00 at night

and then I'm working on the braised basket.

And then tomorrow we're gonna work on mashed potatoes.

My grandma used to be like,

"You got... you got to get rid of the scum off the soup."

Just for the record,

even when things go back to normal, whatever that means,

I'm doing Passover dinners every year, all these new traditions.

It's like the roller coaster riding high, like,

look what we're doing for the community.

We have so much food in the menu.

This is the most amount of food I've ordered in a month.

This is the most amount of money

that I've spent in a month on food.

Morale's super high.

The bike is going. The bike is going.

And then the wrench gets thrown into the wheel

and then you fly off the bike and crash.

♪♪

An employee tested positive for the coronavirus. FRED: Seriously?

Passover is canceled, 2020 is canceled,

life is canceled.

♪♪

So an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

Um, he's been out of the venue

and we are shutting down Scopa and possibly Black Market

and we probably will not reopen until this is all over.

Passover is canceled.

Everything's canceled, 2020 is canceled,

life is canceled.

[ Line ringing ]

- Morning, baby. - Morning, Daddy.

How you doing?

So we have to close Scopa today because an employee

tested positive for the coronavirus. Seriously?

Yeah.

What about all the, uh...

Seder dinners?

Yeah.

They're all in my refrigerator right now,

unable to be delivered.

Oh, [bleep].

I'm going full transparency, like, we're letting people know

we're cleaning, we're isolating,

like, see you in two weeks.

Oh, my God. So that shuts down all your...

Your income and everything, oh, my God. Yeah.

There's been times where my father has said to me,

you know, life is sweet right now.

That's his favorite expression.

But let's not forget

that life changes in a split second, Antonia.

And are you ready for that?

Is it the Sicilian in my father that has me resilient?

Yeah, I mean, it's being raised

by a parent whose parents survived the Depression.

I think it's being raised by a parent

who has had absolutely no job prospect

and zero dollars in the bank and a wife and a family

to provide for and moved across country and figured it out.

It's like an Italian man's dream.

That's it. [ Laughs ]

I want two meat sauces and two plain.

Two meat sauces, coming up.

I was raised by that kind of a family.

He is the greatest person on the planet

as far as I'm concerned.

I've just been very smart about always creating a savings.

And my father is always just

like always prepare for the worst case scenario.

So I've literally lived my entire life with my restaurants

can be taken away at any moment.

I was like, that'll never happen, Dad.

How would all three of my restaurants

be taken away all at once?

Oh, he was right.

So when this happened, you know, it's almost like preparing me

for the [bleep] things that happen in life.

And so I'm not really surprised when they do.

The hardest part was shutting down Scopa,

giving people last checks,

furloughing the last little bit of employees

that I had them being really confused as to,

but I thought we were busy, I thought we were okay,

I thought we can work.

Are you sure it's only gonna be two weeks.

A ton of those questions, we just don't know.

♪♪

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

Xea Myers is my 20-year-old daughter.

She's a college student out of Boston

and she's been saddled with her mother during quarantine,

but she's been awesome.

You've been making dinner?

Xea, you cut the steak? It looks so good.

Xea, she's been the best chicken nugget

during this entire quarantine.

I was worried.

Xea and I were just kind of used

to catastrophic events

that change the way that you look at life forever.

Xea and I lost her dad when she was 11.

He was 44 years old

and died of a pulmonary embolism.

Success out of necessity is a real thing.

It was more or less like you sink or you swim,

like you don't have a choice right now.

We figured it out.

I figured out how to make money

as a single woman raising a child.

I went and jumped into the deep end without any fear.

We're not confused by hard times.

We don't let them get the better of us.

Those kinds of things, I think prepare you for this time.

You've never cooked more in your entire life.

And that. like, is so much, like, weight off my shoulders.

Meaning, like, if I sent you out into the world

and you didn't know how to cook,

what kind of mother am I?

I don't wanna go.

♪♪

MARCUS: Hey, Melba.

This is what the dining room is being used for. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

CHRISTIAN: First day of patio.

So Guy called me yesterday, he's doing "Triple D."

Well, look at this cast of characters.

♪♪

We've now served about 27,000 meals

between the three locations for World Central Kitchen.

We got about 10 restaurants in Newark involved now

and we're gonna do the same thing here in Harlem.

Well, this week, I'm gonna go and meet

other chefs here in Harlem that joined us

for the World Central Kitchen feeding program.

Restaurants such as Melba, all doing about 2, 300 portions.

I want to go over to my appreciation

and say thank you.

When you think about mom and pop restaurant,

this is what Harlem's got a lot of.

♪♪

So right now, I'm outside Melba's.

Hey, Melba.

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

- Hi. - Hi!

One of the reasons why I moved to Harlem

was because of Melba because she's from Harlem

and she was the one who always

said she'll open a restaurant here.

This what we doing now, right? I know.

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

It's the first time I can't touch you. I know. It's weird.

It looks exactly the same as us, like,

you got to have your boxes, you got to have your thing.

This is what the dining room is being used for now, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

But we know how to pivot.

Yeah. You know what's so weird? Yeah?

Every December 31st, I come up with a new word.

My new word this year,

December 21, 2019, was pivot. Wow, wow.

I had no clue on how accurate this would become in my life. The meaning of it, right.

Thank you for all the work you guys are doing. Thank you.

Thank you guys, stay strong.

Thank you for all that you do for Harlem. Thank you.

You believed in this community

way before there was a Red Rooster.

And I could never thank you enough for it. Love you, guys.

- Virtual hug. - Virtual hug.

Virtual hug.

MARCUS: This is what small business mom and pop look like.

They could disappear because they do not have 25 years

bandwidth on this, right?

Most restaurants maybe have cash flow for a month,

maybe even for two.

Most of them don't.

In the winter, when you have two bad snowstorms,

the restaurant is hurting.

But this is 500 times worse than two bad snowstorms.

This is a gut check.

♪♪

♪♪

Good afternoon, everybody.

As we talk a little bit about May 20th, our opening.

So here's a list of the sectors that are open.

Restaurants, outdoor only, and restaurants

are gonna be busy, I understand.

CHRISTIAN: First day of patio.

The reopenings for us

are working out somewhat well because Stamford, Connecticut,

is a couple weeks ahead of New York.

We know that all the same regulations,

all the rules are gonna be the same for New York.

Tables are minimum, six feet apart, we like to say

between seven and eight feet.

When New York patios open we'll be ahead of the game

because we've already done it up here in Connecticut.

We are essentially

a well-oiled machine because we've had

the opportunity to do it here in Stamford first.

♪♪

♪♪

Oh!

Throw your elbows up. Throw your elbows up.

Hope somebody put that on the Instagrams,

you know what I'm saying? - [ Laughs ]

We've been in it.

Connecticut was the first of our restaurants

to be able to open with patio seating.

It's been just a blessing.

Just salad and pizza. Light... light nosh?

Spa menu?

Yeah, spa menu.

It was like breathing air for the first time

in months.

You can almost think of it as if you're drowning,

like in the movies.

Somebody comes over

and they swim over at one of those tanks

with the mouthpiece and they're like,

and you...

[ Inhales deeply, exhales slowly ]

...take a deep breath.

From the day we opened that patio,

it was at least a 70% increase in sales.

Later, guys. Love you guys.

Am in no rush, as bad as it is,

I do not want to go through this again, that'll be worse, right?

So we're gonna just open patios, limited.

I'm gonna listen and we're gonna figure out how to do

that the best way possible and maximize every chair.

Right, so we can pay our bills,

bring people back to work.

♪♪

So Guy called me yesterday, and he's doing "Triple D."

All of the chefs,

Maneet, Christian, Marcus, and myself,

all get a phone call from Guy that's basically like I want

you guys to do a celebrity chef "Triple D" episode on takeout.

♪♪

Not only did this man just raise $23 million

for restaurant relief,

but he's now helping to promote to go,

not just in California for us, but all across the country.

- We love Guy. - We love Guy.

I've yet to film a cooking show

via the internet.

So, okay, great, let's try this, but zero time to prep for it.

When I heard we were all gonna be able

to get together for an episode,

oh, this is gonna be just like a little break

from the craziness of the world.

♪♪

Well, look at this cast of characters,

here we are, ladies and gentlemen,

"Triple D," Take Out Celebrity Chef Edition.

You ready?

ANTONIA: So basically doing a 7 1/2 hour virtual shoot.

It was actually a lot of fun.

GUY: Yo.

Seeing Guy and seeing my boy Hunter

and just chilling out.

This is a great escape.

You guys can fight as much as you want,

but you know that the best is for the last, right?

- Oh! - Oh!

You know, talk a little trash

to each other, get a little competitive.

Just throwing it out there, just letting you know.

Wow, I love this show.

During a couple of the moments

where we had a break,

all of us are checking in with each other.

How's California, like, when people say you're open,

like, what does that mean?

Like, where I live in Venice, everyone's out in the street.

Beaches are packed, but people are opening and out

and about without permission.

Maneet, what's Tennessee like?

It's been very erratic.

What about New York? - New York?

It's not even worth, like, guessing anymore.

It felt so good to feel that camaraderie,

that brotherhood, that sisterhood.

For me, it was a reminder as to why we do what we do.

It's just the love of food. It's the obsession of food.

It felt good.

Well done, chefs. Thank you.

- Thank you so much, guys. - I love you all.

- Thank you, thank you. - I love you!

♪♪

It's the end of May. We're rocking and rolling.

We're clawing our way out.

And then if we thought the world

didn't already change,

it was about to.

CROWD: Black Lives Matter!

There are huge outbreaks of protest.

There's a very strong message that's happening.

We're watching history unfold right in front of us,

and it's not often you can actually take part in history.

REPORTER: We come on the air to a nation changed,

altered by outrage and pain, fire and fury.

Right now, more protests underway

in cities large and small.

CROWD: Black Lives Matter!

We're watching history unfold right in front of us,

and it's not often you can actually take part in history.

Thousands of thousands of people have been demonstrating.

CROWD: Black Lives Matter!

Saturday, when I was marching and speaking at the rally,

it was like maybe 700 people demonstrating,

200, 300 police officers, but it was done peacefully.

Everybody respecting each other.

I'm very, very appreciative.

I've never been prouder of my community

and being a New Yorker and being an American,

and watching so many people,

young and old, different races,

different religions coming together.

There's been so much that has thrown us all on such a loop.

So I'm just ready to open and get my staff back

and doing what we're good at.

It's just a marathon, right? And we're being tested.

And I feel like we're in mile six.

Right. And we got 18 miles to go.

♪♪

ANTONIA: Today is Monday, June 1st.

There are huge outbreaks of L.A. protests.

There's a very strong message that's happening right now,

you know, everyone is angry, disgusted, and wants change,

but it feels like there's more solidarity in all communities

when it feels like we're all in this together.

♪♪

It's hard right now because navigating it with Xea right now

because she's, you know, really sensitive

and I've been raising a mixed child,

half black, half white.

This is something that we've been talking about very openly

and very transparently.

Now, we basically survived a pandemic, protest,

so if there's a tsunami...

We've all been joking for the last, I don't know,

three months, it's like 2020, do over,

2020, let's just skip it.

And then I read something yesterday that was like,

what if 2020 was the year that we all exactly needed?

What if this is the year that changes,

you know, the next 50 years in so many ways.

♪♪

MANEET: I can't wait for the restaurants to open.

I'm feeling very cautiously optimistic

that there is a glimmer,

there is a little sliver of light

at the end of the tunnel.

♪♪

So welcome back.

I think Chauhan is the one concept

which I'm most worked up about.

This is my first restaurant.

So it's got a very special place in my heart.

So tonight, for us is the end of a three-month ordeal

of having all the restaurants closed

and this is the reopening.

I think we should call it Chauhan 2.0.

What do you think, Maneet? - Absolutely.

♪♪

60 people on the 5th. I could shoot for 100.

So it's gonna be a big day.

We had a big meeting about COVID

and about all the protocols, about the dos and don'ts.

So there's at least six feet between all the tables.

All the servers and chefs had gloves and masks on.

It was different from a regular opening, no question about it.

There is so much that can go wrong.

But then,

how long can you live being afraid?

[ Indistinct conversations ]

No matter how old you get,

no matter how many times you do it,

every time you open the doors,

there are butterflies in your stomach

because you are so anxious.

We knew that we would be busy.

Chauhan is always busy.

Be it curbside, be it whatever.

And Chris did say that starting from 6:30,

we will get hit.

And we did.

♪♪

To-go orders are insane.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] ...tomorrow night.

It was great, 78 covers. 78 covers.

And a lot of... ...takeouts.

Takeouts.

I'm waiting on a lamb korma and a tikka masala.

How was everything? - It was wonderful.

We have been following you on Instagram

just waiting for this day.

Oh, my God. You made my day. Thank you so much. Thank you.

I mean, these are small victories, we are happy,

we are excited about it,

we are pumped about it.

Things are going good.

But the crux of the matter is that COVID isn't

and this is constantly in the back of our mind

because we have to make sure

the next step we take is an informed one.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

All right, party people.

Welcome back to our first day of the rest of our lives.

[ Applause ]

We were given the okay on Friday to reopen restaurants

and how about this? Reopen at 60%.

Let that sink in.

So we are going to obviously still continue

with it to-go at night.

Because we're not really sure

how people are gonna feel about coming in.

We can only operate at 60%,

which is a small amount of tables.

Scopa is opening tonight. Black Market is opening tonight.

DAMA will be opening tomorrow.

So it's just sort of me addressing all of the staff

and kind of going through protocol of what it is

that we're expected to do for the opening.

My adrenaline hasn't stopped

since this all happened in March,

so I'm basically living off of adrenaline.

I am not scared of anything at this point.

Look at that. ♪ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you ♪

♪♪

I want to say a huge thank you to you.

You guys absolutely murdered it.

It's been a wild ride.

Hopefully, this is, like, almost the end, okay?

You guys have been like soldiers and it's been,

like, my absolute pleasure.

I'm not nervous, I'm more concerned about the outlook

of the general public.

You guys are our first dining customers!

Whoo!

We actually haven't put anything out on social media,

so every person who's coming in tonight

is actually just word of mouth.

Like, news in Venice travels quickly,

which is great.

First table, it's all downhill from here.

[ Laughs ]

I actually haven't felt this happy in a very long time.

Like, it almost feels natural and normal,

like things are going to settle

and everything's gonna be just fine.

♪♪

♪♪

This week started takeout delivery at The Creamery

in Overtown in Miami.

It's really a fun ice cream parlor with a great

chicken and waffle.

Flying is something that we do two,

three, or four times a week sometimes.

I never even think about it.

So this trip, even pulling up to the airport,

made me a little bit nervous,

saying goodbye to Zion and Maya made me nervous.

You know, I was gloved up, mask on.

That strange vibe was in the air,

everybody felt it.

Somebody sneezed, you know, 20 people looked the other way

and it's like, what's going on, you know?

Once I landed, it was kind of like, of course,

it would feel okay.

We were supposed to open mid-March,

but we now opening instead on Juneteenth.

This is, what, four months behind, I guess.

Happy Juneteenth, everybody.

Having Juneteenth seem like this is coming

and becoming a big holiday around the country.

Being a black business owner,

we can actually open on that day.

It was significant.

We have eight different flavors of ice cream,

but we also have a savory side.

MAN: All right, chicken and waffles,

mac and cheese.

WOMAN: I have an order for... [ speaks indistinctly ]

Creamery is very tiny

and we got crushed.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

And the orders are coming in all kinds of way,

ordering through phone,

people are ordering traditional way,

going up, and just taking an order.

And it's just tiny, like 7 feet by 15 feet area.

So how do we do this through social distancing

and how do we get those orders to be right.

But restaurant work is like getting up on a bike.

If you train and you know how to do it,

it's gonna come naturally.

The Creamery is our way now to stay open

and communicate that we're here, Florida,

we're here, Miami, we're here for you.

The emotional feeling of, oh, yes, we're back.

We finally did it. But it's also a job.

How long did you open for?

The next step is, hey, you got the wrong order,

now you're back in regular restaurant business, right?

Like, hey, the computer is going down.

But when that happened, I was like, great.

It's, like, I love having just traditional restaurant issues.

We did 500 covers on the first day in The Creamery.

I'm really proud of this team.

Nice. Thank you so much for your help.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Thank you so much.

MANEET: I think one of the biggest things

that I've learned since March

is don't get comfortable for even a second.

ANTONIA: I even try to remember what March and April felt like.

It's like a car accident.

CHRISTIAN: The business side of things was never something

that I was really involved in.

And it turns out that's a recipe for disaster.

♪♪

♪♪

It's absolutely gratifying to see this.

I mean...

I'm being cautiously optimistic.

So as it is, we've been open for five days a week

for Chaatable, Chauhan, and Mockingbird.

We can do 75% indoor seating.

We also have been allowed to see people at the bar

six feet apart, which really helps us.

I think that in March,

we were caught completely off guard.

We were hearing it in the background,

but everything happened so rapidly

we were not ready for it.

We hadn't anticipated what we were going to do.

I think we are at a much better space right now.

♪♪

Can you take this on party four, please?

Four and four, party four.

I think one of the biggest things that I've learned

since March is don't get comfortable for even a second.

Right? And comfort is something completely

different from working hard.

Before March, I did get comfortable about the fact

that the restaurants were operating,

our events are doing amazingly.

The biggest thing that I have learned

is don't get comfortable at all, because then you'll keep on

pushing yourself more and more and more.

Stamford is up on some weeks,

110% over last year.

The restaurant is actually doing better than it was pre-COVID.

Right?

Armonk back doing great.

♪♪

And all throughout this, something doesn't feel right.

I'm not feeling whole.

I don't have that...

...thing, that igniter, that spark,

that that jet engine that burns inside of my soul.

You know, I never handled the business side of things.

I never wanted to.

I'm a creative,

so the business side of things was never something

that I was really involved in or knew much about.

And it turns out that's a recipe for disaster.

Do I really want to continue

on the way I am right now for another 10, 20, 30 years?

♪♪

I've decided to leave Fortina.

It's time.

I need to cook again,

I need to be happy again.

♪♪

I got a little mobile oven.

And I'm gonna take it on the road, do some pop ups.

Keep a look out.

♪♪

We are about to open for indoor for the first time

in a very long time, right?

Only 25%, but it's a big deal to us.

We have a extended patio.

We've been doing the patio on and off,

and now we're about open inside of Rooster

and I can't wait.

You know, that's really Rooster at its fullest.

Even if it's only 25%, it's a start for us.

Once it goes from 25 to 40, 50, you can bring more people back.

And it's also a sign for Harlem that, you know,

as a village, as a city, we're back.

So it's very, very important.

This is the dialog, having a restaurant in Harlem,

it's a dialog.

You've got to take all of it, the days when the restaurants

are packed, the hardship during COVID,

the community work, all of it.

And it's not pretty. It's not easy.

But that's what it means to be an owner,

a chef in Harlem in Red Rooster.

We're not out of anything.

This is a humble walk that I monitor daily, weekly.

And I'm learning a ton.

It's tough, but I know we're gonna get through it

because we're strong.

♪♪

The train is leaving the station.

The wheels are turning.

It's looking good.

The weather's good in Los Angeles.

We have outdoor dining available.

It has been consistent over the last couple of months,

every single night.

We have reservations every single night.

All of our staff is here.

Everyone is in good spirits and everybody's working.

And everything feels like it's almost back to normal,

except we just can't work indoors.

I mean, it's a good sign that New York is actually allowed

to be open with indoor dining up to 25%.

So we're hoping that California is going to follow suit

and that we're gonna be able to have indoor dining

hopefully within the next six months.

We're not gonna able to survive with outdoor dining.

It's not gonna happen.

We take everything day by day.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Our jobs are not guaranteed tomorrow

because we have seen everything turn in 24 hours.

Now we're at the end of September.

If I even try to remember what March and April felt like,

it's like a car accident, you know.

I mean, I can taste the metallic in my mouth,

you know what I mean?

Because there's, like, that much freaking trauma

behind it, you know, I can't even imagine

having to go through that again.

♪♪

I've been brought to tears by the men and women

that run our back of the house

who have been unwavering.

I went out and bought a flag that said

and it's a military expression that says,

"don't give up the ship"

to pass to every single one of our leaders.

They get the flag for 48 hours

and then they pass it on to the next leader.

So we didn't give up our ships. Right?

We didn't throw in the towel. We didn't close the doors.

We just keep moving like one foot in front of the other.

And I think everyone feels really, like, happy

and proud of that.

♪♪

We were just caught in a moment of time

that you had to either...

stay and fight

or let the situation take you over.

And the beautiful thing in a very dark time

was that those four chefs

decided to fight.

After a while, some of this doesn't get paid

off with blood, sweat, and tears.

There's no more blood, there's no more sweat,

and there's no more tears.

But do you want to talk about a tough group of people

with never say die attitude,

that's restaurateurs, that's what it is.

That is the restaurant hustle.

♪♪

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